U.S. patent number 10,050,121 [Application Number 15/796,036] was granted by the patent office on 2018-08-14 for replacement metal gate structures.
This patent grant is currently assigned to INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. The grantee listed for this patent is INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Veeraraghavan S. Basker, Kangguo Cheng, Theodorus E. Standaert, Junli Wang.
United States Patent |
10,050,121 |
Basker , et al. |
August 14, 2018 |
Replacement metal gate structures
Abstract
Replacement metal gate structures with improved chamfered
workfunction metal and self-aligned contact and methods of
manufacture are provided. The method includes forming a replacement
metal gate structure in a dielectric material. The replacement
metal gate structure is formed with a lower spacer and an upper
spacer above the lower spacer. The upper spacer having material is
different than material of the lower spacer. The method further
includes forming a self-aligned contact adjacent to the replacement
metal gate structure by patterning an opening within the dielectric
material and filling the opening with contact material. The upper
spacer prevents shorting with the contact material.
Inventors: |
Basker; Veeraraghavan S.
(Schenectady, NY), Cheng; Kangguo (Schenectady, NY),
Standaert; Theodorus E. (Clifton Park, NY), Wang; Junli
(Singerlands, NY) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION |
Armonk |
NY |
US |
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Assignee: |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
CORPORATION (Armonk, NY)
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Family
ID: |
56976579 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/796,036 |
Filed: |
October 27, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20180047827 A1 |
Feb 15, 2018 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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15583170 |
May 1, 2017 |
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14667085 |
Jun 20, 2017 |
9685532 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L
29/41791 (20130101); H01L 23/53257 (20130101); H01L
21/31111 (20130101); H01L 29/6653 (20130101); H01L
21/76897 (20130101); H01L 23/485 (20130101); H01L
29/6656 (20130101); H01L 23/535 (20130101); H01L
29/7851 (20130101); H01L 29/66545 (20130101); H01L
29/4966 (20130101); H05K 999/99 (20130101); H01L
21/76805 (20130101); H01L 29/517 (20130101); H01L
29/785 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
29/66 (20060101); H01L 21/311 (20060101); H01L
21/768 (20060101); H01L 23/535 (20060101); H01L
29/78 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
US. Appl. No. 15/583,170, Basker et al., filed May 1, 2017. cited
by examiner .
Specification and Drawings "Replacement Metal Gate Structures" for
U.S. Appl. No. 15/784,366, filed Oct. 16, 2017, 20 pages. cited by
applicant .
Specification and Drawings "Replacement Metal Gate Structures" for
U.S. Appl. No. 15/796,107, filed Oct. 27, 2017, 20 pages. cited by
applicant .
Notice of Allowance in related U.S. Appl. No. 15/583,170 dated Sep.
11, 2017, 8 pages. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance in related U.S. Appl. No. 15/582,973 dated Aug.
30, 2017, 16 pages. cited by applicant .
Office Action in related U.S. Appl. No. 15/796,107 dated Dec. 29,
2017, 6 pages. cited by applicant .
Office Action in related U.S. Appl. No. 15/784,366 dated Dec. 15,
2017, 9 pages. cited by applicant .
Specification and Drawings for "Replacement Metal Gate Structures"
for related U.S. Appl. No. 15/949,483, filed Apr. 10, 2018, 21
pages. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance dated Apr. 13, 2018 in related U.S. Appl. No.
15/784,366, 15 pages. cited by applicant .
Specification and Drawings for "Replacement Metal Gate Structures"
for related U.S. Appl. No. 15/988,048, filed May 24, 2018, 20
pages. cited by applicant .
"List of IBM Patents or Patent Applications Treated as Related" 1
page. cited by applicant .
Specification and Drawings for "Replacement Metal Gate Structures"
for related U.S. Appl. No. 15/986,335, filed May 22, 2018, 20
pages. cited by applicant .
Office Action in related U.S. Appl. No. 15/949,483 dated May 31,
2018, 9 pages. cited by applicant .
Office Action in related U.S. Appl. No. 15/986,335 dated Jul. 2,
2018, 7 pages. cited by applicant .
Office Action in related U.S. Appl. No. 15/988,048 dated Jul. 2,
2018, 10 pages. cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Malsawma; Lex
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Meyers; Steven Calderon; Andrew M.
Roberts Mlotkowski Safran Cole & Calderon, P.C.
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A method comprising: forming a replacement metal gate structure
and a self-aligned contact adjacent to the replacement metal gate
structure, wherein the forming of the replacement gate structure
comprises: depositing a gate dielectric material within a
replacement gate opening; depositing a workfunction material on the
gate dielectric material; removing upper portions of the gate
dielectric material and the workfunction material to form an upper
space; filling the upper space with a metal material; removing an
upper portion of a metal material to form a recess; and forming a
cap layer in the recess.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the replacement metal gate
structure is formed in a dielectric material.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the self-aligned contact is
formed by patterning an opening within the dielectric material and
filling the opening with contact material.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the replacement metal gate
structure comprises a lower spacer and an upper spacer above the
lower spacer.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the upper spacer is resistive to
a self-aligned contact etching process.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the upper spacer has a material
different than a material of the lower spacer.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the upper spacer prevents
shorting with the contact material.
8. The method of claim 4, wherein the material of the upper spacer
is nitride and the material of the lower spacer is an oxide
material.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step is laterally
removing the upper portions of the workfunction material and the
gate dielectric material to form the upper space.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the replacement
gate structure further comprises: providing a first material on
sidewalls of a dummy gate opening, which is formed prior to the
deposition of the gate dielectric material; depositing the gate
dielectric material on the first material; recessing an upper
portion of the first material to form a lower spacer in the
replacement metal gate structure; laterally etching of the upper
portions of the workfunction material and the gate dielectric
material from a space formed by the recessing of the first
material; and forming an upper spacer above the lower spacer, prior
to filling of the space with the metal material.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the lateral etching opens a
seam formed from deposition processes of the workfunction
material.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the lateral etching removes
upper portions of the gate dielectric material and the workfunction
material, while preserving the workfunction material at a bottom of
the seam.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising plugging the opened
seam with the metal material and continuing a metal fill process
adjacent to the upper spacer.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the forming of the self-aligned
contact comprises etching an opening through the dielectric
material, with the upper spacer acting as an etch stop to protect
the metal material during the etching of the opening.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to semiconductor structures and, more
particularly, to replacement metal gate structures with improved
chamfered workfunction metal and self-aligned contact and methods
of manufacture.
BACKGROUND
Many challenges exist as semiconductor structures scale smaller and
smaller. For example, complementary metal oxide semiconductors
(CMOS) in the 7 nm node require small Lgate. Small Lgate, though,
poses challenges in replacement high-k metal gate processes.
For example, with a gate length (Lg) less than 20 nm, a
workfunction metal is deposited within a small opening formed by
removal of a dummy gate structure. The deposition of the
workfunction metal in such a small opening forms a seam due to a
pinch-off effect. The deposition process is then followed by a
recessing (chamfering) which removes workfunction metal in the
upper portion of the gate before tungsten deposition, in order to
improve gate resistance. However, it is very difficult to recess
the workfunction metal without undesirably removing some of
workfunction metal at a bottom of the seam and then etching the
gate dielectric material and exposing the underlying fin structure,
once the seam is open. Also, the formation of the self-aligned
contact exposes the metal material of the replacement gate due to
erosion of the sidewall spacer material, e.g., SiO.sub.2, resulting
in potential contact to gate shorting or other reliability
issues.
SUMMARY
In an aspect of the invention, a method comprises forming a
replacement metal gate structure in a dielectric material. The
replacement metal gate structure is formed with a lower spacer and
an upper spacer above the lower spacer. The upper spacer having
material is different than material of the lower spacer. The method
further comprises forming a self-aligned contact adjacent to the
replacement metal gate structure by patterning an opening within
the dielectric material and filling the opening with contact
material. The upper spacer prevents shorting with the contact
material.
In an aspect of the invention, a method comprises: forming a dummy
gate structure with a first spacer of a first material; removing
dummy gate material of the dummy gate structure to form an opening;
forming gate dielectric material on the first spacer, within the
opening; depositing workfunction material on the gate dielectric
material; removing an upper portion of the first spacer to form a
space between interlevel dielectric material and the gate
dielectric material; laterally etching the workfunction material
and the gate dielectric material from within the space to form a
recessed portion with exposure of sidewalls of the interlevel
dielectric material above the first spacer; depositing a second
spacer on the exposed sidewalls of the interlevel dielectric
material above the first spacer, the second spacer having material
different than the first material; filling remaining portions of
the recessed portion with metal gate material; forming a cap layer
on the metal gate material; and forming a self-aligned contact
adjacent to the metal gate material.
In an aspect of the invention, a replacement gate structure
comprises: a lower spacer having a first material; an upper spacer
above the lower spacer, the upper spacer being of a different
material than the first material; a gate dielectric material lining
the lower spacer and over a portion of a fin structure; a
workfunction material on the gate dielectric material; a
replacement gate material plugging an open seam of the workfunction
material and above the workfunction material; a cap material on the
replacement gate material, encapsulating an upper portion of the
replacement gate material with upper spacer; and a self-aligned
contact separated from the replacement gate structure by the upper
spacer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is described in the detailed description
which follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by
way of non-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the
present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a structure and respective
fabrication processes in accordance with aspects of the
invention.
FIG. 2 shows one or more processes of removing a patterned dummy
gate amongst other fabrication processes and respective structure
in accordance with aspects of the invention.
FIG. 3 shows one or more processes of forming a spacer material
amongst other fabrication processes and a respective structure in
accordance with aspects of the invention.
FIG. 4 shows one or more processes of removing upper portions
material and respective structure in accordance with aspects of the
invention.
FIG. 5 shows one or more processes of filling a seam and respective
structure in accordance with aspects of the invention.
FIG. 6 shows one or more processes of forming a sidewall or spacer
and respective structure in accordance with aspects of the
invention.
FIG. 7 shows one or more processes of recessing a material amongst
other fabrication processes and a respective structure in
accordance with aspects of the invention.
FIG. 8 shows one or more processes of forming a contact amongst
other fabrication processes and a respective structure in
accordance with aspects of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention relates to semiconductor structures and, more
particularly, to replacement gate structures with improved
chamfered workfunction metal and self-aligned contact and methods
of manufacture. More specifically, in embodiments, the fabrication
methods described herein simultaneously address workfunction metal
chamfering (e.g., removal of an upper portion of the workfunction
metal of the replacement metal gate during etch back processes) and
low-k spacer erosion in self-aligned contact processes, which lead
to contact to gate shorting and other reliability issues.
For example, the methods described herein eliminate undesirable
removal of workfunction metal material at a bottom of a seam during
etch back processes of a lower workfunction metal, thereby
maintaining the designed Vt parameters of the workfunction metal.
The methods described herein further prevent erosion of the
underlying high-k dielectric during etch back processes of the
lower workfunction metal. Moreover, due to materials and processes
used for spacer deposition processes, contact-to-gate shorting that
otherwise result during the conventional formation of a
self-aligned contact process is eliminated.
The structures of the present invention can be manufactured in a
number of ways using a number of different tools. In general,
though, the methodologies and tools are used to form structures
with dimensions in the micrometer and nanometer scale. The
methodologies, i.e., technologies, employed to manufacture the
structures of the present invention have been adopted from
integrated circuit (IC) technology. For example, the structures of
the present invention are built on wafers and are realized in films
of material patterned by photolithographic processes on the top of
a wafer. In particular, the fabrication of the structures of the
present invention uses three basic building blocks: (i) deposition
of thin films of material on a substrate, (ii) applying a patterned
mask on top of the films by photolithographic imaging, and (iii)
etching the films selectively to the mask.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a structure and respective
fabrication processes in accordance with aspects of the invention.
The structure 10 includes a substrate 12. In embodiments, the
substrate 12 can be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate or bulk
wafer. By way of example, the substrate 12 includes a wafer 14, an
insulator layer 16 and a semiconductor layer 18. The semiconductor
layer 18 can be formed directly on the insulator layer 16, e.g.,
buried oxide layer (BOX). The semiconductor layer 18 can be any
suitable semiconductor material including, but not limited to, Si,
SiGe, SiGeC, SiC, GE alloys, GaAs, InAs, InP, and other III/V or
II/VI compound semiconductors.
Still referring to FIG. 1, the semiconductor layer 18 is patterned
into a plurality of fin structures of which a cross-sectional side
view is shown at reference numeral 18. The fin structures 18 can be
fabricated using conventional sidewall image transfer techniques.
For example, in the SIT technique, a mandrel material, e.g.,
SiO.sub.2, is deposited using conventional chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) processes. A resist is formed on the mandrel
material, and exposed to light to form a pattern (openings). A
reactive ion etching (RIE) is performed through the openings to
form the mandrels. Spacers are formed on the sidewalls of the
mandrels which includes material different than the mandrels, and
which are formed using conventional deposition processes known to
those of skill in the art. The spacers can have a width which
matches the dimensions of the fin structures 18, for example. The
mandrels are removed or stripped using a conventional etching
process, selective to the mandrel material. An etching is performed
within the spacing of the spacers to form the sub-lithographic
features, e.g., fin structures 18. The sidewall spacers can then be
stripped.
FIG. 1 further shows a dummy gate process in accordance with
aspects of the invention. In this process, a dummy gate material
15, e.g., polycrystalline silicon, is blanket deposited on the fin
structures 18 using a conventional deposition process such as CVD.
The dummy gate material 15 is then patterned using conventional
photolithographic and etching processes. In embodiments, the dummy
gate material 15 is patterned in an orthogonal direction with
respect to the underlying fin structures 18. By way of example, a
resist is formed over the dummy gate material 15, which is exposed
to energy (e.g., light) to form a pattern (opening). A RIE process
is performed through the openings of the resist to pattern the
dummy gate material 15. The resist is removed using oxygen ashing
processes or other conventional stripping processes.
Spacers 22 are formed on the sidewalls of the patterned dummy gate
15 using conventional sidewall deposition processes. In
embodiments, the spacers 22 can be a low-k spacer. The low-k spacer
refers to a material which has a k value less than that of SiN
(k=7), for example, the low-k material could be SiBCN, SiOCN or
SiON, etc. The spacers 22 can have a thickness of about 5 nm to 12
nm; although other dimensions are also contemplated by the present
invention. Source and drain regions can be formed using
conventional ion implantation or doping processes, as should
already be understood by those of skill in the art such that no
further explanation is required in order to understand the
invention. An interlevel dielectric material 20 is deposited over
the patterned dummy gate 15 and spacers 22. The interlevel
dielectric material 20 can be planarized using a conventional
chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process. The CMP process
will expose an upper surface of the patterned dummy gate 15 and
spacers 22.
FIGS. 2-7 show replacement metal gate processes and respective
structures in accordance with aspects of the invention. More
specifically, in the processes of FIG. 2, the patterned dummy gate
15 can be removed using a selective etching process to the material
of the patterned dummy gate 15. The removal process will result in
an opening formed within the interlevel dielectric material 20,
with the spacers 22 remaining on sidewalls thereof. In embodiments,
the opening can be about 15 nm or less (e.g., 7 nm node target). A
high-k gate dielectric material 24 is deposited within the opening,
over the spacers 22. In embodiments, the high-k gate dielectric
material 24 can be a hafnium based material, e.g., HfO.sub.2, as an
illustrative example. In embodiments, the high-k gate dielectric
material 24 can be deposited to a depth of about 2 nm; although
other dimensions are also contemplated by the present
invention.
Still referring to FIG. 2, a workfunction material (e.g., metal
material) 26 is deposited within the remaining portion of the small
opening, over the high-k dielectric material 24. In embodiments,
the workfunction material 26 can be any metal material with a
certain workfunction, depending on the design parameters of the
transistor. The workfunction material 26 can be deposited using
conventional deposition methods such as, for example, CVD or atomic
layer deposition (ALD). Due to the small dimension of the opening,
e.g., on the order of 9 nm or less, the deposition process of the
workfunction material 26 will pinch-off, forming a seam 28.
In FIG. 3, the spacer material 22 is selectively recessed or etched
back to form openings 30 on sides of the workfunction material 26
and, more specifically, between the interlevel dielectric material
20 and the high-k dielectric material 24. For example, in
embodiments, the recessing of the spacer material 22 can be
performed by a selective etching process, which will not
significantly affect or erode the interlevel dielectric material
20, the high-k dielectric material 24, or the workfunction metal
26. In embodiments, the spacer material 22 can be etched back to
about 50% to 70% of the height of the workfunction metal 26 (e.g.,
height of the replacement gate structure). In more specific
embodiments, the selective recessing or etch back process can
remove about 30 nm to 50 nm of the spacer material 22. In even more
specific embodiments, the spacer material 22 can be etched back to
correspond to a level of the seam 28.
In FIG. 4, upper portions of the high-k dielectric material 24 and
workfunction material 26 can be removed by a lateral etching
process, through the openings 30. In embodiments, the upper
portions of the high-k dielectric material 24 and the workfunction
material 26 can be removed by a wet etching process. In one
example, the lateral etch of the workfunction material 26 has a
target thickness slightly greater than the workfunction material
26. For example, a 6 nm etch will remove 5 nm thick workfunction
material. As a lateral etching process is used to remove the upper
portions of the high-k dielectric material 24 and the workfunction
material 26, even when the seam 28 is open, an additional 1 nm
overetch will not completely remove the workfunction material 26
down to the fin level (compared to the conventional top down
workfunction metal recess). In other words, the lateral etch
process will prevent the seam from being etched through, preventing
exposure of the material of the fin structure 18 or erosion of the
gate dielectric material 24.
As shown in FIG. 5, the remaining portions of the seam 28 can be
filled (plugged) with a metal material 34. In embodiments, the
metal material 34 can be tungsten or other metal material with a
desired high resistivity. The metal material 34 can be deposited
using a conventional blanket deposition fill process, e.g., CVD,
followed by etch back processes.
In FIG. 6, a sidewall or spacer 36 is formed on exposed sidewalls
of the interlevel dielectric material 20, directly above the
spacers 22. In embodiments, the spacer 36 is a nitride material,
e.g., SiN, which is more robust than the material of spacer 22,
e.g., SiBCN or SiOCN, etc. More specifically, as should be
understood by those of skill in the art, the nitride spacer 36 is
more resistive to a later self-aligned contact RIE process than
SiBCN or SiOCN, etc., thus acting as an etch stop to the underlying
gate metal during the self-aligned contact RIE process. The spacer
36 can be deposited using any conventional sidewall deposition
process. The remaining portions of the opening 32 are filled with a
metal material 38. In embodiments, the metal material 38 will be
the same as the metal material 34, e.g., tungsten. The metal
material 38 can be deposited using a tungsten fill process,
followed by a CMP process.
As shown in FIG. 7, the metal material 38 is recessed, followed by
the formation of a self-aligned contact cap 40. By way of example,
the metal material 38 can be recessed using a selective tungsten
etching process, followed by a cap deposition process. The cap
deposition process can be a nitride deposition process, which is
provided by a blanket deposition process. The deposition process is
followed by a CMP process to form the self-aligned contact cap 40.
The spacer 36 and cap 40 will encapsulate an upper portion of the
metal 38, protecting it during subsequent self-aligned contact RIE
processes.
In FIG. 8, an oxide or other dielectric material 42 is deposited
directly on the interlevel dielectric material 22 and self-aligned
contact cap 40. The interlevel dielectric material 22 and
dielectric material 42 are then patterned (e.g., etched) to form a
self-aligned contact opening to the fin structure 18. In the
etching process to form the self-aligned contact opening, the
material of the spacer 36, e.g., nitride, will reduce spacer corner
erosion. More specifically, although the etching process may result
in a chamfer 44 of the spacer material, the spacer 36, e.g.,
nitride, will act as an etch stop over the underlying metal
material 38 thereby preventing potential contact to gate shorts
that would otherwise result from conventional replacement gate
processes which use the less robust material of the spacer 22. That
is, in conventional replacement gate processes, the less robust
spacer material 22, e.g., SiBCN or SiOCN, etc., will etch away
during the etching process to form the self-aligned contact
opening, thus exposing the metal material 38 to the contact
material, e.g., contact material 46. The self-aligned contact
opening can then be filled with contact material 46, e.g., copper
or other metal material.
The method(s) as described above is used in the fabrication of
integrated circuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips
can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as
a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die,
or in a packaged form. In the latter case the chip is mounted in a
single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are
affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a
multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or
both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any
case the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit
elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either
(a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end
product. The end product can be any product that includes
integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end
applications to advanced computer products having a display, a
keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.
The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present
invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are
not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments
disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope
and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used
herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the
embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement
over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of
ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed
herein.
* * * * *